Ringo Starr’s 10 Most Historic Moments

The following gallery of Ringo Starr's 10 Most Historic Moments recognizes a career that took a while to gain the respect it always deserved.

Starr seldom sang with the Beatles – just 11 songs total – and, with only two songwriting credits, he didn't pen much either. But that's hardly the sum of his value within the band's larger musical framework.

Instead, it's the way Starr drove others' musical conceptions, completing the Beatles' songs in a way as unusual (he's a left-handed drummer who plays a right-handed kit) as it was underrated. Just listen to Starr's smart eruptions on "She Loves You," "Ticket to Ride" and "Rain," the innovative fills that punctuate "A Day in the Life," the off-beat aggression of "Tomorrow Never Knows" and "Helter Skelter," the lithe jazz asides on "I Want You (She's So Heavy)."

The other Beatles knew it, even if too few outside of their circle did at the time. Even Paul McCartney has noted that Ringo's arrival "was the beginning, really, of the Beatles."

He stole the spotlight in the Beatles' breakout filmA Hard Day's Night (and evencame up with the title), and that led to a principal role in Help! and then a separate movie career of his own later. He remained a critical cog as the Beatles went their separate ways too, playing drums on John Lennon's solo debut and on George Harrison's All Things Must Pass and Living in the Material World.

By then, Ringo was beginning a run of eight Top 10 solo singles between 1971-75, including a pair of chart-toppers in "Photograph" and "You're Sixteen." His debut album, 1970's Sentimental Journey, went Top 10 in the U.K.; both 1973's Ringo and 1974's Goodnight Vienna reached the U.S. Top 10. As his solo career cooled, Starr could be found on '80s-era albums by both McCartney and Harrison before launching his ongoing multi-artist All-Starr Band tours.

Yet, Starr would have to wait until 2015 – long after all of his bandmates and even the Beatles' principal producer and manager – before being honored by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He was inducted by his old friend McCartney, who'd been a member as a solo artist since 1999.